At a Board meeting held on Wednesday 25 May, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) decided to seek the approval of the Legal Services Board to amend its Minimum Terms of Cover for Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) in order to clarify the expected level of cover provided by professional indemnity insurers to barristers’ clients in the event of a cyber-related incident. The decision follows a public consultation.
The proposed amendments make it clear that client losses which arise from a cyber-related incident are within scope for a claim of civil liability and apply to PII requirements for all self-employed barristers in England and Wales and all firms regulated by the BSB (known as “BSB entities”).
The proposed amendment is a clarification rather than a substantive change and simply makes explicit how clients will be protected should a cyber-related incident occur.
The BSB will also confirm that insurers may avoid liability to pay any claim that would put the insurer in breach of sanctions regimes.
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Notes to editors
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